The Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher has had its release delayed indefinitely, in a potentially misguided marketing move.

If you're yearning to watch Ashton Kutcher play with computers, you're going to have to keep watching Two And A Half Men.

A film that was already famous, is now on the verge of infamy.

The first Steve Jobs biopic Jobs, has had its release date pushed back from April 19 in North America (April 24 in Australia) to an indefinite date, listed by the Australian distributor as "undated third quarter." No date has been given in the US.

"This was honestly one of the most terrifying things I've ever tried to do in my life" ... Ashton Kutcher on playing Steve Jobs.

As if the sitcom solution wasn't galling enough, you're supposed to believe this delay is purely for marketing reasons.

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It's a bit hard to fathom how the distributor of a movie that has been firmly in the public eye since the casting of Kutcher is suddenly claiming it doesn't have enough time to "prepare for a proper release and create buzz for the film."

What higher profile, or buzz, the film can aspire to is unclear. In fact, this announcement serves only to give the film a weaker reputation in the marketplace where the suspicion is it is being recut.

Poor substitute ... Two and a Half Men.

A film that was already famous, is now on the verge of infamy.

It has already hit a number of stumbling blocks, including its name. Once called jOBS, in a presumed play on the Apple "iNAME" convention, and even referred to in some press as iJobs, it was quietly re-formatted as Jobs at the beginning of the year.

Also starring Dermot Mulroney and Matthew Modine, the film, directed by Joshua Michael Stern and written by Matt Whitely, tracks Steve Jobs life from college drop-out to Apple visionary from 1971 to 2001.

Having had its world premiere in January at the Sundance Film Festival, the film's proposed April release was intended to coincide with the 37th anniversary of the founding of Apple.

Unfortunately, the film was not well received at Sundance.

"While Steve Jobs changed the world with his innovations and forward thinking, the first biopic about him, Jobs, does not," said SlashFilm's Germain Lussier.

Most damning was the response from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to the first clip from the film, in which he is portrayed, by Josh Gad, talking to Kutcher's Jobs.

Wozniak described the scene as "totally wrong". He then participated in some damning interviews.

"Our relationship was so different than what was portrayed. I'm embarrassed," he wrote to Gizmodo, "but if the movie is fun and entertaining, all the better."

Wozniak told The Verge that he had been approached to work on the film but turned the offer down after he "read a script as far as I could stomach it and felt it was crap."

"The early script did things like promote drugs in ways that were as foreign as the clip I saw."

It must be noted that Wozniak has a number of vested interests, careful to promote his own book iWOZ, and having signed up to work on the Aaron Sorkin-penned, rival Steve Jobs biopic, being produced by Sony.

That film, based on the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson, is building its own buzz, with Sorkin, who also wrote The Social Network, indicating his film will comprise only three scenes, shot in real time.

Sorkin told Mashable "All I can say at this early stage of the game is that any time you see, 'the following is a true story,' you should think of it as a painting, not a photograph."

At this point, the bigger question is when Kutcher's painting is going to be unveiled or whether it should be quietly stored in the attic.

20 comments so far

Didn't see this coming....

Commenter

sw0rdy

Location

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 1:40PM

Got Apple (and other parties') lawyers crawling all over it if you ask me

Commenter

iSteve

Location

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 2:25PM

"If you're yearning to watch Ashton Kutcher play with computers, you're going to have to keep watching Two And A Half Men."

And then;

"As if the sitcom solution wasn't galling enough"

Ummm, weren't you the dope that suggested it? Unbelievable.

Commenter

Lazy Jesus

Location

Sydney

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 2:25PM

I think maybe the film (Jobs), was scripted and shot as quick as possible to try and cash in on the hype that accompanied Steve Jobs tragic passing. Then when it was done and the producers sat down and had a good look at it, they realised there was a lot more work to do.

Commenter

Peter of Sydney

Location

Sydney

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 2:34PM

The first sign of this being a bust is the fact that they had to hire the actor who's well known to playing "dumb" roles to play a brilliant sales man.

Commenter

Paddywaggie

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Date and time

March 19, 2013, 2:55PM

You had me at Aaron Sorkin, Unnamed Rival Jobs Biopic. I don't even remember the name of this pretender now.

Commenter

OX

Location

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 2:58PM

How amusing, it's not as if Apple have every worried about holding back a release to iron out the bugs!

Commenter

sammynb

Location

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 3:13PM

Its true to the real Apple. Big hype about a product that starts to look like it may not make it.

(written on my Apple Newton)

- the above may or may not be based solely on humor...

Commenter

martin

Location

melbourne

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 3:44PM

another jobs product over promising and under delivering. surprised?

Commenter

jb

Location

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 4:49PM

Yeah... a company that put out the Macintosh, iPod, iPad, iPhone - all best sellers and created the largest market cap company ever (and one of the most profitable) - such underachievers. And I assume you Jb dont own any of the above.. nor does your partner right? The products are soooo bad... but everyone has 'em, and everyone else is copying them.